Star mathematician Ma Xiao leaves the US for China – and a career pivot to AI

Two years ago, Chinese mathematician Ma Xiao helped crack a century-old puzzle known as Hilbert’s sixth problem.

The problem – which has baffled generations of mathematical physicists – centres on an elusive bridge connecting the chaotic frenzy of microscopic atoms with the predictable laws of fluid motion.

The breakthrough, published in the Annals of Mathematics, helped propel Ma’s collaborator Deng Yu to the 2026 Fields Medal – the discipline’s highest honour – and secured Ma a coveted faculty...